Concrete shoring apparatus



April 2, 1968 J. PETCHUK 3,376,011

CONCRETE SHORING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 4, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 25 IO II F'IGJ.

INVENTOR. JOSEPH PETCH UK April 2, 1968 J. PETCHUK CONCRETE SHORING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 4, 1965 INVENTOR. JOSEPH PETCH UK Faeu'j.

W 27 mm ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,376,011 CONCRETE SHORING APPARATUS Joseph Petchuk, 2227 Midvale Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90064 Filed Aug. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 477,171 3 Claims. (Cl. 249--28) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A concrete shoring apparatus is provided in the form of horizontal span support members running in parallel relationship and including span support cross pieces extending between the members at right angles. The members are supported on vertical legs which are adjustable in height and there is included coupling means enabling the lowering of the cross pieces without affecting the support members so that after partial curing of concrete shored by the apparatus, the forms may be stripped. The shoring apparatus can then be reused. Also included are beam support cross pieces whose level may be controlled by suitable coupling to the vertical legs without affecting the level of the main support members. This structure enables the beams to be stripped at the same time the span forms are stripped the same legs serving the dual function of supporting the beam support pieces and principal support members for the span.

This invention relates to construction work and more particularly to an improved concrete shoring apparatus for supporting concrete span and beam forms in the construction of building foundations and the like.

In pouring concrete slabs for building floors, suitable forms for the concrete are constructed from plywood or similar material. These forms must be supported at proper levels in accordance with the desired finished concrete construction. Properly supporting or shoring the concrete forms is accomplished by constructing a frame network usually from wood such. as fourbyfours and in larger construction jobs of metal pipes. In every instance, these shoring structures are designed for the specific job and are simply manually built and nailed together at the site in proper positions for supporting the concrete forms.

After the concrete forms themselves have been set up and properly shored, the concrete is poured and left to set for a period of from seven to ten days. When the concrete has set, the forms themselves are stripped from the concrete, the shoring structure being partially removed to enable this stripping to take place. After portions have been stripped, it is necessary to reconstruct the shoring to support the stripped portions while other portions are stripped. When the complete concrete construction has been stripped of the forms, complete reshoring or construction of suitable supports for the concrete itself is provided and kept in place for approximately three to four weeks to insure that sufficient strength has developed in the curing of the concrete so that the structure will be self-supporting.

It will be readily appreciated from the foregoing that considerable time and labor is involved in the construction and reconstruction of the shoring structures. While some saving can be realized by reusing some of the shoring materials after they have been disassembled, there is still involved considerable waste in that the material must be re-cut to proper size for the next job.

With the foregoing considerations in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a greatly improved shoring apparatus for supporting concrete forms which overcomes in large measure the time and material expense involved in conventional shoring practice.

More particularly, it is an object to provide a concrete shoring apparatus which may be reused to the end that material waste is minimized.

Another important object is to provide a concrete shoring apparatus which may be very quickly assembled and adjusted to a desired height level with a minimum of labor.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide a concrete shoring apparatus so designed that stripping of the concrete after an initial set has taken place can be carried out without having to remove the entire shoring apparatus so that reshoring after such stripping has been completed may be effected in a minimum of time.

Briefly, these and many other objects and advantages of this invention are attained by providing a span shoring means for engaging the underside of a concrete span form together with suitable supporting frame means. Also provided are novel coupling means for holding the span shoring means to the supporting frame means in such a manner as to enable lowering of the span shoring means to a new position at a level spaced below the underside of the concrete span while still holding the span shoring so that stripping can take place. The coupling means are so designed that the span shoring means may be repositioned after stripping has been completed to support the span structure itself.

In addition, the shoring apparatus of this invention contemplates modular structural units forming a part of the basic span support structure for supporting beam forms simultaneously with the span forms.

The entire shoring apparatus is formed of metal tubing with adjustable features throughout so that it is readily adaptable to different construction jobs.

A better understanding of the invention as Well as further features and advantages thereof will be had by now referring to one example as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a part of the shoring apparatus of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view partly in cross-section of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 in position for supporting a concrete span and beam structure;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged cross-section of one of the coupling means employed in the shoring apparatus of FIGURES 1 and 2 in a first position; v

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 illustrating the coupling means in a second position; and,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view partly in cross-section of further adjustable and level control means incor porated in the shoring apparatus.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, the shoring apparatus includes a span shoring means for engaging the underside of a concrete span form. This means includes at least two horizontal span support members 10 and 11 running in parallel spaced relationship. These members may take the form of'I-beams as shown. Horizontal span support cross pieces such as indicated at 12, 13, and 14 in turn extend between the members 10 and 11, generally at right angles thereto.

The span shoring means as described cooperates with a supporting frame means including vertical front legs 15 and 16 and vertical rear legs 17 and 18. The upper ends of these legs connect directly to the underside of the span members 10 and 11 as shown.

Also cooperating with the frame means are beam support cross pieces 19 and 20 extending laterally from the legs 15 and 17 and beam support cross pieces: 21 and 22 extending laterally from the legs 16 and 1B. The far ends of the beam support cross pieces 19 and 20' are connected to further legs 23 and 24, in turn, supporting another span support member 25. Additional span support cross pieces 26, 27 and 28, for example, then extend at right angles from the member 25. The structure is modular in form and thus may be repeated in both left and right hand directioins or alternatively terminated in a scaffolding structure such as shown by the extended beam support cross-pieces 21 and 22 at S.

In accordance with an important feature of this invention, each of the span support cross pieces such as indicated at 12 13, and 14 in FIGURE 1 is held at its opposite ends to intermediate points on the span members and 11 by unique coupling means designated generally at 29 and 30 for the cross piece 12. As will be evident further on in the description, the coupling means 29 and 30 are designated to enable the cross pieces to be dropped downwardly a short distance to a level below the level of the top surfaces of the members 10 and 11. With the cross pieces dropped downwardly, they are still held and may subsequently be repositioned to a level co-planar with the top surfaces of the members 10 and 11.

Adjustment means are also provided in each of the legs and are designated generally by the arrows 31 and 32 for the legs 1'5 and 16. These adjustment means enable changing of the overall level of the members 10 and 11 with respect to the ground. Part of the adjustment means also cooperates with level control means for the beam support cross pieces 19 and 21, as indicated at 33 and 34. The manner in which these latter control means operate will be described subsequently. The arrangement is such, however, that the beam support cross pieces 19, 20, 21, and 22 may be varied in height independently of the height adjustment of the legs so as to assume given levels relative to the levels of the span support members 10 and 11.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, the manner in which the shoring apparatus of FIGURE 1 supports a concrete form structure will be evident. By way of example in FIGURE 2, there is shown a concrete span 35. This span may constitute a slab floor in a multi-story building or a portion of a highway bridge. The span 35 is reinforced periodically as by means of cross beams such as indicated by the concrete 36. The forms for the concrete 35 and 36 are illustrated at 37 and 38, respectively, and usually are formed of plywood or any other equivalent material to define the mold into which concrete is poured.

In FIGURE 2, it will be noted that the span forms 37 are supported by the span members 10 and 25 and the cross pieces such as indicated at 12 and 26. The bottom form 38 for the beam 36, in turn, is supported by the span beam cross piece 19.

Referring now to FIGURES 3 and 4, details of the coupling means for holding the opposite of the cross pieces such as the cross pieces 12, 13, and 14 to the span members 10 and 11 will be described. Since these coupling means are the same for each end of the cross pieces and associated span member, description of one will suffice for all. Thus, referring to the coupling means 29 as shown in enlarged view in FIGURE 3, there is provided an elongated bar 39 having one end received in a sleeve 40 arranged to be slid along the bottom flange 12' of the cross beam 12 as by means of a convenient tab or handle 41. The other end portion of the bar 39 passes through a guide type structure 42 secured to the beam 12 and provided with an arcuate slot 43 through which a lateral pin 44 extends. The pin 44 is secured to the bar 39. The extreme left end of the bar 39 rests on a base 45 engaging the flange of the member 10 as shown at 10'.

The coupling also includes a lever member 46 having a hook portion 47 coupled about the flange 10' at one end and its other end pivoted at 48 to a link 49. The far end of the link 49 is pivoted at 50 to an intermediate portion of the cross bar 39.

With the foregoing construction, and with reference now to FIGURE 4, it will be evident that the sleeve 40 may be slid to the right as viewed in FIGURE 4 to release the right hand end of the bar 39. The bar 39 is then free to swing downwardly about the base 45 engaging the flange of the member 10 as a fulcrum. The degree of downward swinging is limited by the pin 44 engaging the end of the slot 43 in the guide plate 42. This sop means cooperates with the lower end of the cross piece which engages an upper portion of the bar 39 so that the cross piece 12 is still held by the coupling structure but has assumed a new position at a level lower than its original level. This new position is illustrated in FIGURE 4 wherein it will be noted that the span forms 37 are free of engagement by the cross pieces, such as the cross piece 12.

Referring now to FIGURE 5, the adjusting means for the various legs of the shoring apparatus described in FIGURES 1 and 2 is shown. Since this structure is the same for all of the legs and beam cross pieces, description of one will sufiice for all, Thus, referring to the leg height adjusting structure 31, it will be noted that the leg is made up of a lower hollow column 51, and an upper column having its lower end telescoped into the upper end of the lower column 51 and its upper end arranged to support the span member 10. A first fixed element 53 is secured to the lower column 51 and a second fixed element 54 is secured to the upper column 52. A threaded rod 55 has its upper end rotatably received in the fixed element 54 and its lower end threadedly received in a bore 56 formed in the element 53. Suitable nuts 57 and 58 hold the rod 55 in a desired position with respect to the fixed element 53.

With the foregoing arrangement, it will be evident that the nuts 57 and 58 may be rotated to thereby move the column 52 relative to the column 51 and thereby adjust the degree of telescoping of the columns so that the overall height of the leg 15 may be adjusted.

The level control means for the beam support cross piece 19 utilizes the fixed element 53 constituting part of the adjustment structure just described. Thus, in order to enable adjustment of the level of the cross beam 19 relative to the leg, there is provided a movable collar 59 slidable along the column 52 and secured to the cross beam 19. A second threaded rod 60 is coupled at its upper end within the collar 59 for rotational movement but constrained from axial movement relative to the cross piece 19. The lower end of the rod 60 passes through a second bore 61 in the element 53 and suitable nuts 62 and 63 hold the rod at a desired position relative to the column 51. The level of the cross piece 19 may thus be adjusted by rotating the nuts 62 and 63 to change the extent of threaded rod within the bore 61 in the fixed element 53. This latter adjustment may be effected before or after the initial overall length of the leg has been adjusted.

With the foregoing description of the various structural features of the shoring apparatus in mind, the overall operation of the invention will now be described.

In actually positioning the shoring apparatus, the legs may be adjusted to the proper level as described by the telescoping feature. After the legs have been adjusted so that the span members and cross pieces such as 10 and 12 properly engage the under span form 37 for the span portion of the concrete structure, the beam support cross pieces such as indicated at 19 in FIGURE 2 are adjusted by rotating the nuts to move the collars up and down the legs.

As mentioned, the apparatus is modular in form so that there may be several span support structures, such as the structure shown in FIGURE 1, extending to the left and terminating in scaifolding structure such as shown at the right, all similar in construction to that described. Thus, an entire floor slab can be supported by the apparatus.

With the concrete forms such as 37 and 38 properly supported by the shoring apparatus as described, concrete is then poured. This concrete is permitted to set for approximately seven days and thereafter, the forms are stripped from the concrete. It is at this phase of the operation that the present invention is particularly useful. Thus, the beam forms 38 are first stripped by simply lowering the beam support cross pieces such as 19 a short distance and stripping the wood. The cross pieces are then raised to engage directly under the concrete beams to support the same. The foregoing adjustments are carried out by manipulating the nuts 62 and 63 and rod 60, for example, for the beam cross piece 19.

After the beams forms have been stripped and reshored, the span forms 37 are stripped by operating the various coupling means 29 and 30 illustrated in FIGURE 1 to drop the cross pieces to their new positions at a lower level from between the span members and 11. The span members 10 and 11 will serve to provide support for the span while the wood span portions 37 formerly engaged by the cross pieces are stripped from the concrete.

The forms engaged by the span members 10 and 11 may also be stripped by manipulating the nuts such as 57 and 58 to telescope the legs a short distance while maintaining support under the beam forms. After the span forms have been stripped, the legs may be readjusted to a level slightly higher than their original positions and the cross pieces 12 then repositioned between the members 10 and 11 by swinging of the coupling means into their initial positions such as from the position illustrated in FIGURE 4 to the position illustrated in FIGURE 3. The adjustment of the legs will be slightly greater in height than initially to take into account the thickness of the span form wood stripped from the bottom of the span so that there will be proper engagement of the shoring structure directly with the concrete.

After both the beam and span forms have been stripped from the concrete, and the shoring structure readjusted so as to provide proper support, the construction is permitted to cure for an additional twenty-one to thirty days. Thereafter, the shoring apparatus may be readily removed by telescoping the legs and dropping the cross pieces from under the beam.

The same apparatus may then be moved to a new location for another shoring operation.

From the foregoing description, it will be immediately evident that the present invention has provided a greatly improved shoring apparatus. Not only is it possible to reuse the apparatus an unlimited number of times, but in addition, it is not necessary to completely rebuild the shoring structure after the stripping operation. There thus results a considerable savings in both materials and labor as well as time.

While only one particular type of construction has been shown and described for purposes of illustrating the shoring apparatus, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. The shoring apparatus, accordingly, is not to be thought of as limited to the one embodiment set forth merely for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. A concrete shoring apparatus including, in combination: at least two horizontal span support members running in parallel spaced relationship; horizontal span support cross pieces extending between said members at right angles thereto; a plurality of coupling means respectively holding the opposite ends of said cross pieces to intermediate points on said members to position the upper surfaces of said pieces co-planar with each other and coplanar with the upper surfaces of said members; vertical legs under said members for supporting the same at a level corresponding to the height of a concrete span form to be shored, said coupling means being movable to enable lowering of said cross pieces from between said members to a new position at a level spaced below said first mentioned level while still holding said cross pieces whereby span forms formerly supported by said cross pieces may be stripped and said cross pieces then repositioned by said coupling means to their original level, said legs comprising lower and upper columns adapted to telescope together and adjustable means including: a

first fixed element secured to said lower column and in cluding a bore; a second fixed element secured to said upper column; a threaded rod threadedly coupled in said bore of said first fixed element at one end and coupled at its other end to said second fixed element so that said rod is threadedly adjustable to vary the degree of telescoping of said upper column in said lower column whereby the overall length of each of said legs may be varied and thereby the overall length of each of said legs may be varied and thereby enable a desired level of said members to be initially established and subsequently adjusted.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, including beam support cross pieces; and a plurality of level control means respectively connecting said beam support cross pieces to at least some of said legs at a horizontal level below the level of said members and in a position to support a concrete beam form running adjacent to said span form.

3. A concrete shoring apparatus including, in combination: at least two horizontal span support members running in parallel spaced relationship; horizontal span support cross pieces extending between said members at right angles thereto; a plurality of coupling means respectively holding the opposite ends of said cross pieces to intermediate points on said members to position the upper surfaces of said pieces co-planar with each other and co-planar with the upper surfaces of said members; vertical legs under said members for supporting the same at a level corresponding to the height of a concrete span form to be shored, said coupling means being movable to enable lowering of said cross pieces from between said members to a new position at a level spaced below said first mentioned level while still holding said cross pieces whereby span forms formerly supported by said cross pieces may be stripped and said cross pieces then repositioned by said coupling means to their original level; beam support cross pieces; a plurality of level control means respectively connecting said beam support cross pieces to at least some of said legs at a horizontal level below the level of said members and in a position to support a concrete beam form running adjacent. to said span form, said level control means each comprising a fixed element secured to one leg; a collar surrounding said leg and secured to one end of an associated beam support cross piece; and a rod threadedly coupled at its lower end to said fixed element and coupled at its upper end to said collar to enable adjustment of the level of said collar relative to said fixed element so that concrete beam forms may be shored simultaneously with span forms, and whereby said beam support cross pieces may be lowered by said level control means with said legs still supporting said members to enable stripping of said beam forms at the same timesaid span forms are stripped.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,707,420 4/ 1929 Wales 24928 X 1,888,738 11/1932 Roos 249210 1,958,933 5/1934 Williams 24928 X 2,714,755 8/1955 Wright 249210 2,894,312 7/1959 Jones et al. 24928 X 2,949,982 8/ 1960 Cobi 249210 X 3,130,470 4/1964 Bowden 24928 X 3,162,922 12/ 1964 Alziari 24929 X 3,239,188 3/ 1966 Gostling 24924 X 3,286,972 11/ 1966 Jackson 24924 FOREIGN PATENTS 142,069 1919 Great Britain.

178,456 1954 Austria.

937,438 1956 Germany.

WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner. 

